Page 23 of Hexbound
Pressing her hands to her face, she sucked in a sharp breath. A breathless laugh burst out of her. "I don't even know if I can believe a word you say. Why would you do this? You don't even know me."
Imploring eyes looked up from beneath a thick row of dark lashes.
Bishop knelt in front of her. "My mother was raised in somewhat less than perfect circumstances. When she was sixteen...." His mouth twisted. "Well, she was beautiful. And there were openings in life available to beautiful girls, there still are. I hate to think that if someone had only helped her, then she would not have been forced to live the life she led." Only then was he able to meet those eyes. "I could never help my mother. When I was born, she'd been a kept woman for almost eight years, cycling through various protectors. It wasn't always a kind life for her, and I was too young to ever do anything about it. Well, this time I can do something. This time Icanstop those people from forcing you into circumstances from which you cannot escape. Do you think I'm stupid? I know how those ledgers work, how those interest charges rack up. The Crows have no intention of ever seeing you free of this life. One day you'll find you owe too much and then that vile little bastard will say there's a way to help pay off your debt quicker, and all it will cost you is a brief tumble into bed."
Verity looked away. "I know how it works too."
Reaching out, he let his hand hover over hers, afraid in this moment to touch her. "You owe me nothing. Remember that."
"I've never met a man like you," she replied simply, and there were shadows in her eyes as if this was not entirely a good thing.
He stood and held out his hand to her. "Well. Now that that is clear, I think we'd best get going."
Verity bit her lip as she looked at his outstretched fingers. As if making a decision, she accepted his hand and he helped her to her feet. "At least we have a start to our investigation."
"Noah Guthrie. Know him?"
"He's Daniel's younger brother," she replied. "I haven't seen him of late as he was trying to steal from Murphy. Murphy didn't like that very much."
The thought that had been bothering him ever since the revelation in the study returned. "Was Noah the sort of man to consort with demons?"
"Ordinarily, no," Verity replied, still looking pale. "But then, who knows? They said he had some sort of mysterious new crew he was running with. I didn't pay it much mind."
Demons. His fingers twitched. There'd been a demon a month ago, when they'd confronted Morgana over the stolen relic, but he'd presumed that it had been beaten back into the Shadow Dimensions when the Blade of Altarrh was destroyed, and his half brother Lucien had denied the demon his body as a vessel.
Coincidence? Or had the demon somehow found another way back into the world? And if so, why had it gone after the Chalice? Without the Blade, the Chalice was no threat to it. Only with all three of the Relics Infernal could a demon be controlled, and one of the relics had been destroyed.
Something wasn't adding up right. He needed to speak to Drake.
"What was that look?" Verity asked.
He looked down at her. "I'm just thinking. A month ago, my father's ex-wife, Morgana, blackmailed his apprentice into stealing the Blade of Altarrh for her—the first relic in the set the Chalice belongs to. Morgana wanted Drake to suffer for the divorce and was planning on using the demon against him. She's... not a very nice woman. Or wasn't."
"Wasn't?"
"Long story," he muttered, "but the demon needed a vessel to hold it, and so Morgana was trying to sacrifice my half brother Lucien as the intended vessel. Drake and I tried to stop her and her son, Sebastian—my other brother—and were both crushed beneath the house when our magic brought it down."
Verity looked thoughtful. "You think the demon that killed Murphy was the same demon she was trying to summon?"
He frowned. "No. It couldn't be. She needed all three relics to summon and control it, and we destroyed the Blade. Plus, she didn't have the Chalice. I had it. But it just seems an awful amount of coincidence. Demons are... not the sort of thing you run into every day." His frown deepened. "Though my father's men have been working to clear the house site. There's been no sign of Morgana or Sebastian's bodies."
"Maybe they escaped?"
He saw the house collapse in on itself again, and the utter despair that had crossed his father's face. "It would have required a miracle for them to escape." They walked on for another half block before he blurted, "They were working with the Earl of Tremayne, however, andheescaped. He would have known about the Chalice's powers, and the demon. And he too wants my father dead."
"I don't think I've ever heard of the earl." Verity hastened to add, "In case you were wondering if there was any connection between him and Noah."
"Was Noah the sort who might have liked to earn a spare bit of coin by doing an earl's dirty work?"
"Of course he would have. But how would they have met?"
"Hmm." It wasn't much of a connection, but at least it gave him a few leads to track down. An icy sweat sprang down his spine. Tremayne and Agatha had bad blood between them, and Tremayne was both powerful and ruthless. He wouldn't think twice about unleashing a demon in this place, if he thought it might bring him the mantle of Prime, which Drake had recently abdicated.
Bishop had a very bad feeling. He didn't want it to be Tremayne.
Verity paused beside him, looking around with a faint frown darkening her brow. "There's something wrong."
Instantly he was on edge. "Why?"
